COLLEGE BOWL ROUNDUP
Independence Bowl Florida State 42, Southern Miss. 13
James Blackman threw three of his Independence Bowl-record four touchdown passes to Auden Tate and Florida State beat Southern Mississippi 42-13 in the Indepedence Bowl on Wednesday in Shreveport, La. Florida State (7-6) avoided its first losing season since 1976. Southern Miss took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter after a 63-yard touchdown drive that was aided by two 15-yard Florida State penalties, one for unsportsmanlike conduct and the other for roughing the kicker. Blackman matched an Independence Bowl record with three touchdown passes in the first half to help Florida State take a 23-6 lead. The Seminoles pushed the advantage to 33-6 late in the third quarter. Cam Akers led Florida State with 94 yards rushing, and Jacques Patrick added 61 yards. Blackman completed 18 of 26 passes for 233 yards. Southern Miss (8-5) was led by Ito Smith, who ran for 92 yards. Kwadra Griggs completed 13 of 25 passes for just 86 yards and a touchdown.
Cactus Bowl Kansas State 35, UCLA 17
Alex Delton ran for 158 yards and accounted for four touchdowns, leading Kansas State to a Cactus Bowl victory over UCLA on Tuesday night in what could be the final game of coach Bill Snyder’s career. Delton replaced Skylar Thompson late in the first quarter and scored on runs of 68 yards, 3 yards and 1 yard. Alex Barnes added 117 yards and a touchdown for the Wildcats, who rushed for 345 yards. Kansas State (8-5) struggled in the first half against UCLA’s potent offense, but shut down the Bruins in the second to give Snyder his 210th — and possibly final — win with the Wildcats. UCLA (6-7) played without top NFL prospect Josh Rosen, who’s recovering from a concussion, and built a 10-point halftime lead without its star quarterback. The Bruins’ offensive success didn’t carry over into the second half and their defense had a hard time containing Delton, saddling interim coach Jedd Fisch with a loss in his last game before Chip Kelly takes over the program. Snyder, 78, turned around one of the nation’s worst programs after taking over in the Little Apple in 1989. He returned from a three-year retirement in 2008 and led the Wildcats to eight straight bowl appearances. Snyder has not decided whether he will return for a 27th season or retire again to spend time with his family.